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50 days of (Meat-free) Winter for the Jungle

Those who know me well, know that I like to eat quite a lot. At university, a verb was coined in my honour; to ‘Oli’ something was to eat a substaintial amount of food very very quickly. The foods I eat are also overtly meaty. I thoroughly enjoy a good steak, burger, buckt of fried chicken, bacon sandwich, rack of ribs, meat feast pizza, MSG-ridden Chinese buffet, you get the idea. There is often a running joke that I would not even last 24 hours without consuming some semblance of meat.and even being married to a vegetarian for the best part of a decade has not persuaded me to change my ways…)

Me being particularly disgusting

Yes, it’s a bad habit I know, but one that is part of my lifestyle, routine and even my identity. I enjoy eating meat, and to give it up would be frankly really annoying and irksome.

However, difficult times call for impossible things. We’ve all seen the horrific scenes in the media of the state of affairs in the Calais Jungle. As winter draws in, the conditions are only going to get worse. The site is already toxic, with human and animal waste, refuse and chemical detritus clogging the land. Deadly diseases are inevitable. Whatever your politics, nobody deserves to live like that, so we need to act.

There are myriad people, institutions, charities, faith groups and companies helping people in the Jungle on a daily basis. They organise food & clothes deliveries, build shelter, offer health services and may other basic human needs. But they need financial support.

So, starting the 5th November, I am attempting to raise £500 (in the first instance, beyond who knows…) by not eating anymore meat until Christmas Day (in 50 days time). So for every £10 received, I will not eat meat for another day. The link to the funding page is here: https://www.gofundme.com/olimould

So you can prolong my annoyance, but at the same time, prolong someone else’s hope.

I will donate the money to Guildford People to People who are doing fabulous work in organising deliveries and food collections. So please consider helping them out yourselves too.

Yes it may seem trivial, mundane, easy and even a bit pithy, but I’m doing something that I consider to be challenging, so please support me as best you can!